Apple Circus
by whatsamatta
Summary: The strange tale of how a farmer's son fell in love with a circus performer. Because every character has a history. Even minor ones.
1. An Ending To Serve As A Beginning

_**Disclaimer: Hey! Arnold own, I do not. But partake of its goodness, I shall.**_

HA

Reaching forward, the small, delicate pale hand was accompanied by a grunt of exertion. Just outside both its grasp and perhaps the realm of possibility, was a beautiful and shiny red apple. Reminiscent of days of lore regarding dwarves and wicked stepmothers, the gleam of its skin from the noonday sun was just begging, practically _**screaming**_ for someone to pick it.

_Ignore my brothers and sisters_, it said with a downright sinister sparkle, _I'm the one that can offer you delicious eternity. Pick me_.

"And pick you I shall." The owner of that small hand mutter to herself, before pushing up that much needed invisible inch and plucked the apple from its branch. Cackling with glee, she bit into its tough outer skin with a satisfying _crunch_ that made her mouth water that much more.

"Meilin? Good Lord, girl, what are you doing up there?" a feminine, but not necessarily fragile voice called up to her, and the young woman looked down her ladder to the face the one who had been taking care of her these last few days.

"I'm picking apples." She called down through a mouthful of sweet, sticky, juicy apple innards – all the while indicating to a bushel at the base of her ladder which was only half full. The older woman regarded the scene before her for a moment, before smiling, and even laughing a bit.

"I can see that. But should you really be up there in you delicate condition?" she asked, and Meilin scoffed, apple bits noticeably flying from her lips.

"Mrs. Gammelthorpe, I don't think I would ever classify myself as _**'delicate'**_." She said it with as much emphasize on the word as she could muster, to which Mrs. Gammelthorpe laughed loud enough that a few other workers turned to see what was so funny.

"You're right – but you climb any higher and gravity will suck that baby right out of you." Smiling a crooked grin, the older woman couldn't help but laugh at the sheepish and embarrassed smile that graced Meilin's lips. Sticking the apple in her mouth in such a way that had her resembling a roasted pig, the pregnant Chinese woman steady herself with on hand on the ladder while she let the other slide down to her large stomach. Rubbing it once or twice for good measure, she returned her gaze to her surrogate mother before emitting a muffled giggle and slowly made her way down.

Bare feet stepped slowly onto the soft grass, cool from the shade of the tree, and wiggled its toes innocently before moving into a pair of sandals.

"And how many times do I have to tell you? I've fed you so you're family, call me Rose or Mamma or something. You know how I hate formalities." Meilin smiled at Rose, then nodded and bent to pick up her modest apple harvest.

"Alright Rosie, you win." The two women shared a smile, content to let the world around them turn as it must. After all the crap Meilin had endured in little over a year, she figured it was only right and fair that she be allowed this one moment, even if it was just one. The older woman, meanwhile, was affectionately known by those who knew her as a ferocious she-wolf; and Rosalind Gammelthorpe would be damned if she let anything happen to whom she now deemed her sixth child.

"Mom! Mom! Mom! Mamma! Mamma! Moo-oooom! _**MOTHER**_!" the impatient calls of her only blood daughter, Tess, pulled Rosie and Meilin from their moment in a flash, causing the matriarch of the family to spin on her heels.

"_**WHAT?!**_" she barked back harshly, although to the trained and accustomed ear the soft tones of motherly affection could be heard.

"GUESS WHAT?! IT'S MARTIN! HE'S – OWE! YOU JERKS! WHY I OUTTA –" the rest of her call was unintelligible as the fifteen year old started scrapping with the three other older brothers, who had tackled her in order to keep her big mouth shut. It was enough of a warning, though, as Meilin looked at Rose with a sparkle in her rich brown eyes that was not to be mistaken. The look that anyone, with any sense at all, would recognize.

The look of young love.

Is if in slow motion, Meilin turned again to face the long driveway leading up to the apple orchard. She could see his silhouette, walking slowly for a while, before picking up speed. She wanted to rush at him, but her swollen womb coupled with the swelling of love in her heart kept her rooted to the spot. Rose had taken the moment to slink off and make sure her little spit-fire of a daughter hadn't given any of her brothers a black eye. No doubt her husband, Connie Gammelthorpe, in his infinite wisdom had skirt off to the house for a refill of his coffee. He was always good at letting her be the warden of their usually unruly children.

Meilin had watched his form grow larger and larger until he was standing before her, filling her whole vision with his crooked smile and heartbreakingly beautiful brown eyes. His black hair fell messily over his eyes as he took her hands and kissed her knuckles.

"Sorry I didn't tell you where I was going, but I wanted a surprise." He told her before dropping to his knees before her huge stomach where a child grew. He lifted her shirt and kissed the skin, letting her soundless smile wash over him.

"I want you in my life forever. To make you happy and love you, this child, and any others that may follow." He told her before reaching into his pockets and pulling out a gold band with a small diamond set in the center.

"Martin." Was all she could say, the tears starting to flow as he gazed up at her and slid the ring onto her finger.

"This was the only ring I could afford that you would like. So what do you say, Meilin Liu`? Would you be willing to join the Gammelthorpe clan and be consumed by happy insanity with the rest of us?" she smiled, not daring to speak. Her joyful laughter was being strangled by sobs already – she'd hate to think how she could ruin the moment by blubbering out an answer. So instead, she nodded, and Martin grinned the crooked and trademarked Gammelthorpe grin before swiftly standing and kissing her fiercely.

Rosie and Connie Gammelthorpe watched on in silence as Tess joined Tim, Max, and Tobias in making a plethora of gagging and smooching noises from the side of the driveway where they were still tangled up together. All in all, though, their sounds of masked approval fell on deaf but blissful ears.

HA


	2. An Encounter At Dicksburger

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey! Arnold nor its characters, but I like to think I own a part of Curly's history, such as his parents, as this story follows. I hope you enjoy, and please review. I don't improve if you don't talk.**_

HA

The yelling was growing louder, and definitely more elaborate. Chinese Cantonese had begun overwhelming English as the voices rose, and through the tent screen she could see heads poking out to see what was happening, their shadows flickering with the small fires. Most of the other performers had picked up some of the foreign language as the group traveled, but it was these arguments that left them confused and somewhat uncomfortable. It's a shame it's so hard for tones and subtext to be picked up with Cantonese, otherwise the others might feel a bit more at ease.

She nearly laughed as her mother let loose another string of Cantonese curses at her father about his intelligence, that light sound of her voice lost in the harsh clips of their native tongue. Her father shot right back with a jab at her cooking, which was right about when objects started flying.

The young woman laughed at her elders before exiting the front of the tent, waving away the concerned looks from her fellow performers. One would think that after so many years of working with Liu` Gan and his wife Xui Li, they would be more use to the Chinese family and their exaggeration of all things normal. Apparently not; at least, not in America – foreign things tend to stay, well, foreign.

The sky was dark, save for the stars dotting it and forming the constellations. Her favorite had to be the Milky Way, not only for it's parentage of a candy bar, but because it was supposedly the road to Valhalla. Breathing deep, she watched as the air around her became visible.

"Meilin!" the just-past-puberty voice of her little brother stopped Meilin in her tracks, and she turned to see him rushing towards her, narrowly avoiding the sword juggler.

"Quiet Hao! You're going to get me caught." She whispered back sternly, grabbing him by his jacket collar and pulling him behind a nearby tree. That was one of the few useful things about being part of a traveling circus: terribly easy to sneak out in the middle of the night. At least, it was easy when her nosy, noisy little brother wasn't getting her caught.

"Where're you going?" he asked, trailing his sister as she led the way from the circle of tents and fires, laughter and food towards the more deserted section of the park.

"To find something to eat that's decidedly more American. If I have one more dinner of sweet and sour chicken with vegetable fried rice, pork chow mien and egg flour soup I'm going to explode." She over-exaggerated in true Liu` fashion, throwing her arms in the air as she made her way down the path leading out of the park, little brother faithfully in her wake.

Stopping casually on the sidewalk of the main thoroughfare, the dark Chinese eyes scanned the strip of lights before landing on a sign that brought a smile of mischief to her lips. When her brother had caught up to her, she spread her arms to the sky in praise of an unseen deity.

"O Ominous Unknown Force thy name is Dicksburger!" she cried in mischievous glee before crossing the street, almost tasting the burger on her tongue. Hao watched her for a moment, then jogged after his sister in confusion.

"Dick's? Why would you eat there? You know our food is ten times better for you than that mess of drive-in bio-hazard." Turning around so she could face him, Meilin walked backwards while taunting her little brother.

"Only if you believe in _ancient Chinese fortune cookie_." She replied in a mocking tone, mimicking her mother's southern province dialect the old woman never lost, "And mess of drive-in bio-hazard? Oh, good job Hao, way to improve those vocabulary skills." she teased, before performing a hop-skip-n-jump into a roundoff back handspring that took her across the street and into the parking lot of her desired drive in. Hao only watched her, shaking his head and just how much of a show-off his sister really is.

Narrowly avoiding a Toyota pickup truck he swore was gunning for him, Hao joined Meilin in sitting on a parking space stoop where she was animatedly talking to a cute waitress. He instantly recognized although could place her, but Meilin obviously knew the young woman.

"The usual Meilin?" she asked in a bubbly and only half-faked cheery tone, pencil and notepad at the ready. Her green eyes shifted to him, following his movements as he bent almost outrageously low to be included by his sister – before flickering back to the older Chinese-American.

"You know me too well, Sammy. Hao will have the same thing, won't you brother?" she offered, noticing his absent nod as he watched the young waitress intently. Sam smiled with her own nod, punctuating the order with a stab of her pencil before assuring them their food will be ready soon. Turning on her heel, Sam issued a good-natured farewell while heading back to the kitchen. Surprisingly the drive-in was relatively quiet for a Thursday night, but that just meant that Meilin and Hao wouldn't have to explain what they were wearing over and over and over again.

They were, after all, skipping rehearsal for their little slice of heaven. That being said, the pair was clad in matching orange and black Chinese-style uniforms, albeit a bit tighter for aerodynamics. The slippers on their feet, while great for gripping the stage and fellow performers' clothing, did little to keep the night air out.

The routine stillness of the lot was disrupted suddenly by the engine of a Ford pickup, two young men in the cab and three more people in the bed. They were laughing, and the Chinese siblings could pick up bits of their conversation.

"I'm just saying, the Olympics are going down hill fast." One young man stated, what must have been again because the others groaned in annoyance. A young girl – the only one – slipped from the bed of the truck and mocked what had to have been her brother. All five of them looked far too alike to be anything other than siblings.

"We know, Tobias, you've only been telling us this every chance you get since we left the farm." In retaliation, the man put her in a headlock and gave her a noogie. She fought tooth and nail to get free, much to the amusement of the men around her.

"Toby has a point though. I tried watching figure skating the other night – had to shut it off because I deemed it too gay to be a sport." The youngest of the boys informed, and by this time they were close enough to the Liu` siblings that Meilin just had to say something.

"I didn't think it was possible for something to be too gay to be a sport." She mentioned offhandedly, and Hao nearly laughed when the five others stopped what they were doing and turned to look at his sister, almost simultaneously.

"What?" that youngest boy asked, and Meilin finally turned fully to look at them, almost swallowing her tongue at how cute he looked.

"Well, Webster defines sport as _any recreational activity, specifically a game, competition, etc requiring bodily exertion_. Sports are just actions put together in sequence to create something – how can an action be _too gay_ to be an action? And once it reaches that point, what does it become? That alone makes your statement 'too gay to be a sport', false." she elaborated, and the young man's jaw dropped even lower. One of the other men, the one that looked to be the oldest, laughed at the exchange.

"Well I'll be damned, you're the first person besides mom that made him speechless. Mind if we sit with you?" he asked, and Meilin smiled in return while motioning that the five were welcome.

"Thanks. I'm Tim, and this is my twin, Max," the other man nodded his greeting, "Tobias," he winked, and Meilin laughed with nothing but kindness, "Our little sister, Tess," the girl clipped her nose with her thumb to indicate how tough she was, but still smiled warmly, "And the Wordless Wonder over there is Martin." His jaw was still hanging, and there was the faint dusting of a blush on his cheeks, but Meilin only smiled and looked over each of them.

Yep, they were definitely siblings – it was like carbon copy after carbon copy, with only small differences like age and hair lengths.

"I'm Meilin, and this is my little brother Hao." She introduced as their food arrived, and both her and her brother tossed a small handful of salt over their shoulders. Their dinner companions watched them strangely, before digging into their own food.

"You guys must be regulars; I didn't see you order yet your food's already here." Hao managed out from a large mouthful of burger, only to be rewarded by laughter from his new friends and a head-smack from his sister.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." She scolded through her own big bite of burger, eliciting the others to laugh even more.

"Yeah, this is our usual haunt when we're not on the farm. Sammy knows our orders by heart, DONTCHA SAM?!" Tobias shouted out, to which she turned from the customer she was helping to smile.

"YEAH, MUCH TO MY DISPLEASURE!" she called back, grinning as he blew her a kiss. Max and Tim noticed the way Martin was eying their new companions, especially the pretty little Meilin, and couldn't help but snicker.

"So, Meilin and Hao, what's with the get-ups?" Max asked, while his twin grabbed Hao's elbow and fingered the material. Meilin laughed, and threw the spilt salt she intended for her fries over her shoulder before answer.

"We're part of the Red Tent Troupe that's staying in Ester Short Park." She explained as she and her brother finished up their little guilty pleasures.

"You're circus performers?" Martin finally articulated, watching mystified as the two simultaneously stood and tossed their trash in the nearest bin – Meilin scored but Hao missed by a good foot. Before either one of them could comment on either their profession or the younger one's bad aim, a loud shout in a strange foreign language rang clear enough that it could be heard over the hubbub of the main street. Meilin and Hao shared a look, before smiling and heading back towards the park.

"Sorry, that's our mom, we gotta go" Hao explained after remembering to pick up his trash, lest he be accused of littering. Meilin laughed and began waling backwards as she waited for her brother.

"Yeah, but it was cool meeting you guys. We'll be staying at the park for at least another two weeks and our first show is tomorrow; you should drop by and see us! It's guaranteed to be a fun trip!" she called, before Hao caught up to her and they both did a mix of roundoff backhand springs, flips, and cartwheels across the road and into the entrance to the park.

The five watched them disappear from the lights into the darkness of the trees, stunned at their encounter with the circus siblings. Tess was first to break the awkward silence by taking a bite of her burger, and chewing it thoughtfully.

"I like 'em." She said between chews, trying to reduce the ridiculous size of her meat-bun-topping combo. Three of her four brothers looked at her slowly, while Martin just continued to watch the memory of Meilin's figure vanishing. Tim was the first to understand his little brother's look, and laughed at the thought of it. Turning to Max, he thumbed at the direction of the struck teen and winked.

"Maybe we'll stop by tomorrow night, if only to get that look again."

Of all five of the Gammelthorpe siblings, it was only Martin who wasn't thinking that the trip to Dicksburger was good for more reasons that just food. The young sixteen year old could only think of the pretty young Meilin, a circus performer who was both strange and, oddly enough, alluring.

And how he couldn't wait for tomorrow night.

HA


	3. Into The Red Tent

_**Disclaimer: Ok, honestly, I feel like the last chapter wasn't up to par, but I wanted this to be its own chapter, so it was just the cruel hand of fate. I don't own Hey! Arnold, so on and so forth, but I own the plot and the OCs, so on and so forth. Maybe I'll make this story a little smutty, so on and so forth, but we'll see how the cards fall. So on and so forth.**_

HA

Popcorn. Fresh and hot, steaming with salt and butter. Pink cotton candy swirled around a stick and elephant ears slathered and drowned in cinnamon sugar. The Elephants and Lions, the Performers and the Patrons called out to one another. Management was in the Big Top, riling up the crowd for the next act. A slim trombone broke out of the band pack, entertaining the audience with his notes. Hands would take a large swig of a dark bottled alcohol before continuing their laborious job – sweating whiskey and vodka, rum and beer and anything else they could smuggle in.

All around the five siblings the life of the Circus flowed, not softly or even gracefully but punching and kicking – having never been to a live circus, they were overwhelmed. Martin felt as if he couldn't breathe as he watched Tess getting a large popcorn and a thing of cotton candy. When a tall and thin man shove past her and knocked the kernels out of her hand, all four boys were about ready to pounce. But when she turned on her heel and swiftly kicked the man in the backside, they knew she'd be fine.

"Watch where you're going buddy!" she shouted, her face growing red as the man turned to confront the small girl who had the audacity to kick him.

Okay, so, maybe she wasn't exactly _fine_ per say . . .

"You ran into me you little bitch!" the man shouted back, his face going as red as his hair. Tess, though, would not be intimidated, as she threw down the food she was holding so she could roll up her sleeves.

"Little bitch? Little Bitch! Don't you _dare_ call me that, asshole, I'm a _**LADY**_!" It was a mixture between a growl and a shriek, and it was the only warning the man had before the fourteen year old dove for his waist, tackling to the ground before punching him square in the nose. Tim and Max shot forward in an instant, ripping their little sister from on top of him, while Tobias and Martin stopped him from advancing on her.

"Just what the fuck is going on here?" a deep voice shouted, before the crowd that had gathered parted. A man, large enough to fit the voice and a tall red top hat on his head, approached the two groups, his eyes narrowing on the man. Before he could defend himself, though, Tess opened her mouth.

"This asshole ran into me, then blamed me and called me a _**LITTLE BITCH**_!" she accused in that same growl shriek sound, and the large man turned to her with an apologetic look on his face.

"I am truly sorry about this, Miss. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" he offered, and the small Gammelthorpe looked thoughtful for a moment before her eyes also narrowed on her enemy.

"Yes, I would like for him to buy me some more popcorn and cotton candy; as well as an apology and free passes to all of your events for myself and my four brothers." She issued, motioning to the boys. Max and Tim simultaneously smacked their foreheads, Martin massaged the bridge of his nose and Tobias cheered. The larger man nodded, unhappy but willing to comply.

"Yes yes, of course. I'm D.W. Holmes, proprietor of this Funhouse Fleet, and if you or your brothers require anything – anything at all – you just let me know. Now, Erik, I believe you owe this young lady an apology." The red head identified as Erik glowered for a minute, before looking at the Gammelthorpes with masked hatred.

"Terribly sorry for the inconveniences, Miss, it's been a busy night and I'm not all sure where my head's at. Let me buy you a new 'corn and 'candy." He offered quietly, making his way over to a stall before returning a few minutes later with the largest popcorn and cotton candy available.

"Thank you, and it's alright." Tess gloated, while Erik sneered before turning and making his way towards the big top. D.W. followed him, and everyone who was still partially interested watched as the young red head was smacked in the head by his boss. It wasn't the friendly kind like Meilin had done to Hao the other day either. Slowly, the crowd returned to their activities, and soon everyone had forgotten the incident between a grip and a patron.

Turning to her brothers and eating her newly acquired popcorn, Tess smiled innocently, as if she hadn't beaten up an older man. Before anyone could say anything, the circus band picked up, and the five had to rush to the Big Top so they wouldn't be late for the show.

*

The punch was clean and direct, meeting zero resistance as it connected with the cheek of a young man. Staggering back, Erik lifted an arm to wipe away the blood running from his nose as D.W. cracked his knuckles.

"Just what the fuck was that Erik?" he snapped, crossing his arms as he waited for the young man to gather himself. They were alone out behind the elephant tent, and the smell of the large animals was almost enough to cover scent of vodka. Almost but not quite.

"I'm sorry D.W., it won't happen again."

Erik knew that was the wrong thing to say when the fist that collided with his cheek moment before now made contact with his stomach. The older man punch him once or twice for good measure, seeing as the kid wasn't defending himself anyway, before stepping back again. He watched with a glare as Erik stumbled onto his knees, coughing and shaking as if he were going to throw up.

_And well he should_, the experienced showman thought with a frown, _it might sober him up_. Before he had a chance to act on the rage welling within him again at the sight of his drunken worker, D.W. was alerted to the sound of the band gearing up. He was needed at the Big Top.

"You're damn right it won't happen again Erik. Because if it does they'll find Jimmy Hoffa before they find you." Was all he said before delivering a swift kick to the boy's side. Smoothing his hair away from his face, D.W. Holmes replaced the top hat that had been sitting calmly on a nearby crate, and disappeared.

Erik stayed on his knees, coughing out blood and stomach acid to try and relieve the pressure in his abdomen. Hesitantly getting to his feet, he swayed for a moment before looking at the lights of the large red tent through his good eye. Full of vehemence, he wiped more blood from his mouth and nose.

"_Fucking asshole._" He muttered to himself, before making his way to help set up the smaller stages for the sideshow freaks.

*

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" the man hollered enthusiastically as the Gammelthorpes took their seats in the stands. The lights had been all been put upon him as he stood, gathering attention as the next act got into position. Martin quickly recognized the man as D.W. Holmes, and was amazed that he had gotten to the tent so fast.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my esteemed delight to introduce to you our next act;" he began, taking off his hat to hold in front of his chest modestly.

"About four years ago I was travelling in the Far East when I heard a tale the was both amazing and tragic. In the province of Shaanxi in Central China, there was a village. Now, the people that lived there were able to do strange things with their bodies, bend them in ways that are unnatural. The government and local villages were calling them demons, and slaughtering them out of fear.

"When I arrived at the village, I too was afraid. But instead of dwelling on it, I decided to help these poor people. So I brought the whole village back to the states with me.

"So if I could direct your attention to Stage Three, and introduce that village, here to perform for you now: I present the Red Tent Troupe Acrobats!" he climaxed with an exaggerated bow, before backing away while the spotlights all moved to the third stage, where twenty four people stood in a circle. Oriental drums, brass, flutes and strings picked up as they all began moving in unison. Their bodies contorting in strange and almost painful ways, bending over backwards while doing flips and head stands.

Martin sat, transfixed as the performers moved faster in order to keep up with the accelerating tempo. His mind couldn't even comprehend half of the things they were doing, only that in _**was**_ unnatural and fascinating at the same time.

"OH!" Tess suddenly shouted, making him jerk and spill some of the popcorn, "There's Meilin and Hao!" she pointed with her cotton candy, and Martin's eyes immediately followed its path, and he was amazed to feel his heart speed up at the sight of the small Chinese woman he met only yesterday. They were moving towards the center of the stage, and the majority of the spotlights focused in on them.

She and her brother were wearing the same clothes as the day before, and were performing what appeared to be a mirror routine, each one taking turns balancing on the other to create a reflection. At the end of their spotlighting, Meilin ended up balancing one-handedly on Hao's head as he stood and performed a one eighty. Slowly he brother got onto his knees, and when he did Meilin did a back flip off and the two stood in unison, embracing the ows and awes and applause, before retreating to the back ground as the group got ready to perform more stunts.

Fifteen minutes later, the large group gathered once more, and bowed as the music ended. All five Gammelthorpes stood up to cheer, disrupting a few patrons around them, but no one said anything. Meilin was the only one to see them, and she smiled and nodded, but did little else.

After the Acrobats were cheered for on final time, D.W. Holmes ushered the crowd to turn their gaze up, up, up and up – to the top of the Big Top where the Trapeze Artists were next to perform. It was another hour of watching stunts and women riding elephants and men taking cannonballs to the stomach and lions almost-but-not-quite eating their tamers and clowns running around stupidly before D.W. once again took the stage. For the whole show, all Martin could think about was Meilin, and how much he wanted to see her.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to thank you all once again for stopping by to pay us a visit. Unfortunately I conclude the end of the show, but remember you can still view the sideshows and play the games we offer. And we'll still be here for a few more weeks, so you are more than welcome to stop by again. And so I say adieu, and I'll see you soon."

With that he vanished in a puff of red smoke, and when it cleared he was gone. The audience gasped and cheered, amazed at all they had seen that night. But it was late, and children fell asleep against the shoulders of their parents as the crowd slowly dispersed into the cool night air.

Getting to his feet, Martin stretched, enjoying the sounds his popping joints made as he and his brothers and sister left the tent as well.

"Well, that was cool." Tess informed as her brothers followed her. Tobias nodded vigorously, being much more awake than his siblings.

"I'll say. That young Trapeze Artist was smokin'." He leered, laughing as Max and Tim both smacked the back of his head.

"Who was smokin'?" a voice interjected from behind them, and the group turned to see Meilin – now dressed down in a grey jacket with jeans – standing with a petite brunette wearing almost the same thing. At the sight of the brunette, Tobias's tongue just about rolled out of his mouth and onto the dirt.

Meilin saw his look and laughed, turning to her companion with a smile.

"Apparently you." Her friend also laughed, but blushed a very pretty rosy pink as Tobias grinned cheekily.

"She's right, actually. You've got to be the -" he was interrupted by Martin slapping a loud hand over his older brother's mouth.

"Slow down there, Tiger. You don't even know her name." he smiled, and this time it was Meilin who blushed.

"Right, guys, this is Dinah. Dinah, meet the Gammelthorpes I was telling you about: Tim, Max, Tess, Martin and -"

"Tobias Gammelthorpe, and may I say it is an honor and a privilege to meet such an exquisite and talented beauty such as yourself." He gushed, kissing her hand as Dinah outright laughed.

"Mhmm. Well, Meilin, why don't we show these lovely patrons around, let them get to know the Circus Life?" Dinah offered, and Meilin agreed while taking the arm closest to her – which just so happened to be Martin's – and the two girls started the tour of the Red Tent Troupe.

Just behind the Strongman's Tent, Erik stood eves dropping. At hearing Meilin so comfortable and cheery around the group that had caused him to get reprimanded, his blood grew hotter than boiling. As he watched their backs disappear, he took another swig of his vodka from his coat pocket and brooded, madder than a wet hen that his girl, _his girl_ was acting the way she was around someone that was definitely _**not**_ him.

Heads would roll for this.

HA


	4. The Giraffe Speaks Chinese

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey! Arnold, sorry, fact of life. But I do own a 1998 Subaru Legacy Outback whose mirror I viciously broke off backing out of the garage last week . . . yep, sad day. That, and yesterday I had jury duty, although I wasn't picked. Enjoy!**_

HA

This time as the sounds of the circus surrounded and drowned him, Martin didn't feel anxious or overwhelmed. He felt calm, even happy as they laughed and got to know one another. Not that he planned on telling anyone or not, but he was certain it was because he had Meilin on his arm. Dinah had her arms linked with Tess and Tobias, who in turn had their arms linked with Tim and Max.

The five of them toured around the tents fashionably, Tobias leaning in to whisper something in Dinah's ear every now and again. She would giggle and swat his arm playfully before leaning over to Tess in order to point out one performer or another and waving in her friendly way. Martin and Meilin, meanwhile, were walking just a bit slower, taking time to laugh.

"Wow, I think this is the first time I've seen you in normal clothes." He joked, smiling as she scoffed in mock objection.

"What? You think I can't wear normal clothes? Besides, this is only the second time you've seen me – you have no room for comparison." was her offhanded reply as she waved at the Bearded Lady. His grip tightened on her arm barely, not enough for anyone but her to notice, forcing her to look at him.

"I'd like to have the chance to make the comparison." He said quietly, and she stopped, smiling softly as they let the others walk farther on ahead.

"If you're sure you can handle it. Knowing me is like knowing Sun-Wukong, or so my mother always says." She laughed, more at the look on Martin's face than her mother's saying.

"Who's Sun-Wukong?" he asked, tripping over the name that was too full for his mouth to handle. She laughed, patting his cheek softly before continuing to follow his siblings.

"Never mind, Martin. I'll tell you when you're older." She brushed off, and before he could ask again, Dinah had turned and shouted in a surprised tone at her best friend.

"Meilin, it seems the Gammelthorpe Troupe had a little run in with Erik earlier." The aerialist could only watch Meilin's guarded eyes as the acrobat and contortionist stopped in her tracks.

"Really?" she asked softly, and Martin nodded as he caught up with her, before they started walking again, this time catching up with the others.

"Yeah – and what is with that guy?" Max questioned once they had made it to the freaks, and Dinah had skipped off to talk with the Lizard Man, Tobias hot on her heels.

"I'm sorry about Erik – he's a bit of a drinker and an ass. Pushy, and always thinks he's right, especially when it comes to things he considers _**his**_." Meilin explained as Tim stopped them by the ring toss. He made a few attempts, throwing a mini-fit at why none of his circular hoops couldn't make it fully around the square stands.

It was only Max who caught Meilin's quick gesture to the hustler, then the subsequent motion of the guy reaching below the table for only a moment. The next time Tim tossed the ring, it somehow managed to make it over the stand, to which he cheered and picked out a medium sized shark for Tess. Max shot the young Chinese performer a look, which she pointedly ignored as the group dispersed to their own interests.

Meilin had led Martin to the menagerie, although he was watching her more than any of the animals. The pair stopped at the giraffe pin, and Martin studied her as she leaned against the cage and smiled as the large beast lowered its head to nuzzle her hand. Using its long purple tongue, it licked lovingly at her palm for residue of any sort of treat Meilin had eaten that day.

"So, is it true, you know, about your family and being slaughtered?" he asked, and she laughed, although he couldn't be sure if she was laughing at him or the licking giraffe.

"No, not even. A circus is a business, and D.W. has to get the crowd riled up somehow. Actually, of all the families traveling with us, only two are from Shaanxi – my family is really from Hainan Province. Besides, have you not seen the summer Olympics? If even half the audience in there had half a brain they would realize that instead of slaughtering us, the government would have sent all of us to Beijing to be cultivated for the gymnastics teams. But D.W. _**is**_ a master manipulator." She laughed, and Martin had never felt like a bigger idiot in his entire life. Why hadn't he thought of that? And here he prides himself on his intelligence . . .

The short girl next to him speaking rapid Chinese pulled him from his thoughts, and he turned to see that very forward giraffe playfully licking her neck. Meilin was trying to scold it, but because of the joy in her voice it wasn't working very well. Finally she said a phrase that seemed to have worked, for the long-necked creature feigned loss of interest and moved to its feed trough.

"The giraffe speaks Chinese?" Martin asked, and Meilin nodded with a smile while pointing to the other animals.

"Yeah. And the Elephant speaks Polish, the Lions only Russian, the Horses won't do anything unless it's said in French, I swear the Birds squawk in German, and the Hippo speaks Hungarian."

Without meaning to, Martin laughed. Loud.

At the absurdity of it all, Meilin assumed, before dragging him out of the menagerie tent and across the lot, into the Side Show lines. Martin was barely able to read the sign outside the first tent they entered, written in crazy circus font with banners.

**Come See The AMAZING**

_**LUG**_

**The Man Who Eats Everything**

Below the words was an illustration of a tall, relatively skinny man in his very early twenties, all sorts of odd objects forming a circle around him. The tent was small, with only a stool in the center with a bucket filled to the brim with some of the oddest, most common things Martin had ever seen. But there was no Lug in that tent, and Meilin stopped short with a shrug.

"Hmm, must be out on his smoke break." She mentioned off-handedly, but made no move the leave the abandoned makeshift stage. Silence reigned for a few moments, before Meilin turned to her companion again with a look of seriousness that seemed foreign on her playful face.

"I feel the need to apologize for Erik again." She said, and Martin was partially confused.

"Why?"

"Well, he's my boyfriend, and so I feel responsible for his actions." The young performed explained, and Martin felt as if the world had either stopped spinning, or suddenly picked up speed. She was . . . dating him?

"Oh." Was all he could say, and just as she was about to continue, a tall lanky man that resembled the picture except aged to perhaps mid to late thirties, entered from a back flap, a short self-rolled cigarette resting between his lips. His grey eyes caught Meilin, and he smiled while pulling out the cancer stick and setting it on his tongue, swallowing it with little effort as he sat on the stool.

"Hey Mei, what are you doing here?" he asked, before eyeing her escort with interest. His voice was heavy with a South Boston accent, and Martin was amazed he could even speak with an accent that thick.

"Just showing my young friend Martin here some of the fine and good people of the circus. And you know you're my favorite." She charmed, and Martin observed that either they had a very good working relationship, or he was very susceptible to flattery. Or maybe both.

"Mhmm, sure Mei. Well, how do you do Martin? Cecile B. Bianchetti." He introduced, holding out a hand with yellow nicotine stains between the fingers. Martin clasped it with friendliness, amazed at the strength that one handshake held.

"But I thought the sign said Lug?" the young farmhand asked with confusion, and Meilin and Cecile had to laugh. They had forgotten that he wasn't one of their own.

"Right, well, Lug is just my stage name, courtesy of D.W. Holmes. I mean, you gotta admit that sounds better than _Come See The Amazing Cecile The Man Who Eats Everything_, right? Lug just sounds more foreign, and foreign sells. Just look at Meilin here, why, she's a star, because she's a foreigner who can bend herself in half." He laughed, and would have gone on not a small group of rowdy teenage boys entered the tent. Meilin, recognizing the need for an exit, waved and pulled Martin from the tent.

Pulling out an intricately engraved pocket watch from the front of her jeans, the young Chinese woman flipped open the lid and groaned, before snapping it shut again.

"Come on, we had better get you back to the others. It's a quarter to three and we'll be shutting down in fifteen."

Tess had fallen asleep in the bed of the truck while Tim and Max talked quietly on the tailgate. Tobias was doing his best to woo Dinah, and Meilin could see her friend had a small daisy in her had. The smitten young man must have picked it for her. How sweet. When the two stragglers reached the old Ford, the eldest Gammelthorpes nodded and shut the back as quietly as possible.

"Hey, time to go. It was nice meeting you Meilin. Dinah." They bid a good night and entered the cab. Martin climbed over the bumper to sit in the back with his sister and other brother, who was still wooing the young aerialist.

"Come on Tobias." He chided, grabbing his brother by the collar and hauling him into the back by the scruff of his neck. The engine wouldn't quite turn over, but neither of the young men paid much attention.

"Wanna hang out tomorrow?" Martin asked quietly, while Tobias still chatted to Dinah. Both young women nodded with a smile.

"Sure, the show doesn't start until five, so how about you two stop over about noon?" Meilin offered while Dinah just blushed. It was obvious to all but the boys they had asked the same question.

"Alright." Tobias agreed as the engine finally turned over, and the old truck rumbled down the road. Martin continued to watch the shrinking figures, Meilin with her hands clasped before her delicately while Dinah demurely smelled the small white daisy. As they disappeared, Martin became vaguely aware that he was falling in love.

And with a look at his brother, who wore the same expression as he watched the same figures, he realized he may not be the only one.

**_O_**

Meilin waited until the truck was gone from sight before turning to her friend with a coy smile.

"He really likes you." She said mischievously, while Dinah sighed wistfully.

"I really like him too. And you know he's smitten with you." Was the brunette's serious reply, and Meilin sighed while returning her gaze to the road.

"Yeah, I know." Was her dejected response as her friend wandered off, muttering something about telling her sister Lottie that she was in love. As soon as she was devoid of her companionship, a rough hand grabbed her by the upper arm and jerked her around.

Coming face to face with an angry Erik had her caught off guard. Wasn't he suppose to be man-handling the crowd out of the lot?

"What do you think you're doing Meilin?" he sneered, and the young woman was accosted by the strong smell of vodka.

"What are you talking about?" she asked fiercely.

"_**You belong to me.**_ What do you think you're doing spreading your legs for anyone other than me?" his grip tightened on her arm, and she involuntarily flinch. He smirked at her pain, twisting his arm harshly.

"I'm not spreading my legs for anyone, Erik." She barked, causing him to narrow his eyes at her dangerously.

"_Erik! Get over here and help Jacob with the Rubes!_" D.W. voice echoed across the lot, and Erik pulled Meilin's face so close all she could see was him and all she could smell was alcohol.

"_**Not yet, you're not.**_" He growled, before letting her arm go with a shove and making his way back to the Amazing Lug's tent to flush out the strays. Meilin watched him go before lifting up her sleeve to inspect her arm. It was sore and already started to turn an aggravated red color; no doubt a full out bruise by morning.

Moving her eyes slowly to the road again, she sighed once more before making her way to Erik's tent to wait for him.

HA


	5. Meilin and the Apple

_**Disclaimer: I still don't own Hey! Arnold. Isn't that tragic? I thought so. Hope you've been enjoying **_Apple Circus_** so far. By the way, sorry for my delay – I got back from glorious tri-fecta that is Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont a few days ago, and while the journey there and back was a little less than desired, the trip itself was wonderful. And I think it got my creative mojo back on track. **_

HA

Martin and Tobias were alone this time as the old truck rumbled down the path and into the Circus lot. The noon sun high in the sky robbed the performers and hands of the magic they wore the previous night, turning them into average everyday people. Tobias parked by the other cars and trucks that belonged to the workers, and he and his younger brother made their way through the throngs of people.

They felt lost in the daylight.

Nothing was the same.

Someone bumped into Martin, and as he apologized, two voices told him it was alright. Spinning on their heels, the Gammelthorpe boys at first thought that the women were twins – that wasn't unusual, they were younger brothers to a set of twins after all. But as the eyes traveled down, the women stood closer and closer until they literally joined at the hip, sharing the same pair of shapely legs. Martin's jaw dropped while Tobias's eyes grew as large as dinner plates.

"_**HOLY SHI-**_!" the older brother started before his sibling slapped a hand over his mouth. The sisters – for even if they weren't conjoined it would be obvious to tell – smiled with amusement while wrapping delicate arms around one another.

"Yeah, we get -"

"- that a lot. I'm Abigail and this is -"

"- Evelyn. We're sisters, in case you -"

"- couldn't tell." At the blank stares of the men before them, the pair laughed fashionably, and Abigail – or was it Evelyn? – waved over her sister's shoulder at another performer neither boy noticed. The spell was only broken when soft hands took a gentle hold of them, the sisters smirking with impish joy.

"Hey Evelyn, Abigail, you two better head over to the Mess Tent before Lottie and Dinah eat everything." Meilin's firm voice came from between the brothers, and the pair looked at her in amazement. Where had she come from? The sisters laughed again, before waving absentmindedly as they began walking away with a skill only attained after years of practice.

"Alright, see you-"

"- later Meilin. It was nice -"

"- meeting you Tobias -"

"- Martin. See you -"

"- around."

Meilin allowed the pair to stare blatantly at the swaying hips of the sisters, before pinching Tobias on the shoulder harshly. He whined as Martin laughed, but Meilin ignored the younger brother.

"Tobias, Dinah is waiting for you at the Mess Tent; it's the orange one with the red flag. Just follow Evie and Abby – trust me, they're a hard pair to lose." Tobias sent her an odd look, before nodding and following after the conjoined twins with dazed attention. Martin turned to Meilin with a goofy smile, completely forgetting that she was dating the resident asshole. What he found was the impish grin of a Chinese acrobat with a secret. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

"Have you eaten yet?" she asked casually, and he gave her a hard look, still trying to decipher that look.

"No, why?" that little sneak allowed her grin to morph into a smirk before she leaned back slightly and crossed her arms. The motion was so smooth, he only barely caught it and so had to chalk it up to her career training.

"That's good, 'cause one of the pee-ons in the menagerie found himself in some hot water last night, and I said I'd muck out the Giraffe stall. And you just volunteered to help."

Her laugh was odd. In no way delicate, or lady like; although it wasn't boisterous and grating like his Aunt Kathy – she was a sensitive topic for his Grandma, being as masculine as she was. It was still feminine, and held this cackle sound that was almost foreign. A bullhorn rather than a bell, his mother would have said.

But it was definitely good-natured – mostly.

And it was definitely directed at the forlorn look on his face.

Meilin only cackled once more and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him towards that same tent they visited last night; and while the sun had bleached out most of the awe, it was still magnificent to behold. Not ten minutes later, Martin found himself almost sick to his stomach and understanding why Meilin had said it was good he hadn't eaten. Wave after wave of _Odure` de la Crappe`_ practically raped his nose as he shoveled and wheeled the mud pies into an outside area Meilin had showed him.

He had to admit, it was smart of D.W. Holmes to sell the waste to the local farmers of wherever the Circus happened to stop. Although growing up on a farm, Martin had never actually had to muck out stalls of crap – his family technically owned an apple orchard, and there were no defecating noise makers he had to care for. Granted, his Aunt Kathy – the same one with too much testosterone in her system – ran a cattle farm up by the American-Canadian border which they often visited, he had so many older brothers that by the time he came around Kathy had learned not to let her nephews do anything even _remotely_ related to the cows. And then when Tess showed up, oh God . . .

It's a wonder the Gammelthorpe children are even _allowed_ within Toole County.

"_**OW!**_" the pain-filled cry cut through his thoughts as Martin quickly grabbed for the back of his head, dropping the pitchfork and half a load of a giraffe's load with it. He whipped his eyes to Meilin, who was grinning but to her credit had the decency to look a little bit guilty.

"What was that for?" he whined, and she allowed a small chuckle to escape her lips before composing herself once more.

"Sorry Martin, but you had a big ol' black fly about ready to make love to your head."

It was then he realized just how many flies were swarming around his hair. Swatting them peevishly and only half blindly, he growled at not landing a single hit.

"Why the hell don't they land?" he asked more himself than her, but Meilin felt her answer deserved to be heard – whether the question was directed at her or not.

"Because they know you'll try to kill them. They're dive bombers, not Kamikazes, you moron." She joked, and the statement was just odd enough to make sense – and enough to momentarily still Martin's swats. She laughed again, this time at his frozen posture, then muttered something in Chinese. Having no idea what she said but breaking free from his absurd pause, Martin smiled and went back to shoveling, when another cry echoed through the tent. This one, though, wasn't his.

"_**Tippy! AI-YA!**_"

And then his world went black.

_**~O~**_

Blurry, grey, and misshapen.

That was the world Martin woke up to; his eyes were out of focus badly, and his head hurt like a mother. Groaning without realizing it, he reached for the back of his head while sitting up, and all at once felt woozy and pained again. Someone had slapped his hand.

Hissing with the sting and another groan, he blinked rapidly until his vision cleared, and found Meilin's worried and embarrassed gaze.

"Martin, are you ok? Shit, I hope Tippy didn't give you a concussion. Here, how many fingers am I holding up?" a voice, Meilin's without a doubt, accompanied the three fingers that waved slowly in front of his nose. He groaned them away with a weak slap, before taking her hand and sitting up with a wince.

"Three." She laughed, holding his grip firmly and easing him onto his feet.

"Well, I guess you get the toaster then."

He looked at her in confusion, but she only smiled again and led him out of the tent carefully, through the lot and toward that old beat up truck.

"Never mind, let's get you home."

"Wha-what happened?" she laughed again while reaching into his back pocket to fish out the keys. The ring held only two objects: an old ford key and a keychain. That was funny, she liked lighthouses too.

"Tippy; sweet ol' elephant really, although a bit hard of hearing lately. She heard me speak Chinese, and thought it was a command from part of her act. Stuck her hind leg out and _**THAWACK!**_ Down you went. So you see, I better get you home before you start showing signs of a concussion – damn Circus rules and all, and – ah ah ah! I'm driving. Don't worry, I'll try to keep it under ninety, and all four wheels on the road." Commentary punctuated by a forceful shove into the passenger seat, Martin was amazed at how that small Chinese woman could get his field hand muscle up the eight inches and into the cab. But she did, and just as easily without even panting, hauled her own weight into the driver's seat, turning the ignition and smiling in delight as it roared. Well, roared about as much as a hoarse-throated lion.

Hauling ass was nowhere near the accurate term for how that old '52 ford pickup thundered out of the lot. Bat Out of Hell, would also fall short. Speed Demon too. Abducted by aliens was close, as was Vanished.

It's Evaporated, though, that seemed best.

Meilin cackled with delight as she shifted up three gears in order achieve maximum speed, and Martin suddenly made the connection between her drive statements, and the utter, horrid truth of them. Tires squealed as she ripped down the highway, no doubt leaving burn marks behind.

"_**RAMMING SPEED!**_" she shouted from the driver's window that was permanently fix in the _down_ position, and then quickly turned her cornered eyes on him with what appeared to be a sudden thought.

"So where exactly do you live?" she asked casually, and Martin actually laughed before holding his head.

"Just stick on Owls Head Highway about ten miles or so. We're on a private road that's really more like our driveway, but it's hidden – don't worry, I'll guide you." He smiled, and then blindly reached for one of the door handles while his other hand gripped his stomach. In view of Meilin's nauseating driving, his mild concussion was forgotten.

_**~O~**_

"_Cào…_" the Chinese woman beside him muttered as she killed the engine, and he couldn't fight the smirk that slipped across his lips as he slid from the truck. "You _live_ here?" her words were dripping with amazement at the sprawling apple trees sweeping across the acres. Martin simply nodded, glad to notice that he didn't feel nauseous – Tobias had seen more than his fair share of concussions, so the young Gammelthorpe knew the signs.

"Martin Julius Gammelthorpe! What have I told you about leaving your brother stranded!" a woman's voice erupted from the front door of the quaint little white farm house adjacent to the large red barn. Before he could even respond, the owner of the voice pushed her way onto the porch, hands fisted onto her hips and a smirk on her lips.

"But trading him in for a newer model? That I can forgive. What a bunch of boys I raised, bringing home pretty young girls and not even introducing them to your mother! Hello sweetie, I'm Rose Gammelthorpe, this one's birth-er." She introduced enthusiastically, rushing off the steps to grab Meilin's hand and shake it warmly.

"Good to meet you Mrs. Gammelthorpe, I'm Meilin, this one's assailant." Both women laughed, and Martin had a deep feeling it was at his expense. His head trauma was apparently forgotten.

"That's great; tell me Meilin, would you like something to drink?" Rose was always one to play host. Always.

"Cold milk in a mug if you don't mind." Both Martin and his mother looked at her oddly, before the performer shrugged with a smile.

"Family tradition. Water's fine too."

"Cold milk in a mug it is!" Rose announced, before turning her back on the pair, not catching the way her youngest son took hold of the girl's hand. Or maybe she just didn't want to catch it.

"I'm gonna show Meilin around, starting with the barn." He told his mother softly, not quite hearing his mother snort with anything but ladylike grace.

"Yes, I'll bet you are. I've seen my fair share of barns too, and have five children to show for it." She snorted again, and this time Martin did hear her as she moved up the steps of the porch.

"What was that Ma?" his curiosity was too innocent, and Rose didn't have the heart to embarrass her son in front of this pretty little Chinese girl.

Yet.

"Milk in the kitchen when you're ready!" Inertia slamming shut the screen door was her punctuation, and Martin could only shrug while Meilin blushed. Taking his hand, she was content to let her young escort lead her into the barn, awe in her voice as she asked about all the equipment stored within.

"Why does every barn have to have hay in it?" fingering the itchy produce, she caught his uneducated shrug from the corner of her eye.

"Unwritten rule, I think." She turned to him then, and laughed so hard she thought snot was going to come out her nose. He started laughing too, and soon neither of them could control it; laughing just for the sake and sound of it. Martin held his sides with both arms while Meilin had to lean against a wooden support beam, lest she fall over. And just as suddenly, he had taken her face and kissed her.

She shouldn't have, she really shouldn't. Not with Erik being the way he is, who she was and who Martin was. She knew this was probably the worst thing to do. But it just felt so damn _**good**_. He didn't kiss like Erik, always trying to get something from her, usually sex. It wasn't rough, or harsh, and he didn't bite.

He kissed her like he _**wanted**_ to.

Without realizing what was happening, his hand found its way up her shirt and fondled her back. He didn't try to take her bra off, and didn't grope her breasts either – it was almost as if he just wanted to feel her skin. Her hands wound up around his neck and in his hair, his scalp hot and sweaty. A moan ripped from someone's mouth, although neither could tell which.

Maybe they had realized what was happening.

"Martin, Martin Martin Martin." Pulling her lips away from his almost by force, Meilin held his face in her hands and tried to steady her breathing. He looked at her, eyes hazy, but let her continue.

"We can't. I still belong to Erik. I'm sorry, but we can't. I'm sorry." She whispered, and he nodded, even though it sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than him. Muttering that a few more times, she leaned forward and kissed him, slow and deep, before pulling away again.

This time Martin stepped away, straightening his close as he watched her do the same, before taking her hand and slowly leading her from the barn and down one of the main paths into the apple trees. From the kitchen window, Rose watched them, confused.

That was fast – too fast for what she _knows_ happens in that barn. She had three other sons before Martin, all of which had shown a pretty young gal the barn. None of them had been that quick, so either Martin had something to be embarrassed about, or there was something else going on.

Judging from the way the pair moved, there was _**definitely**_ something else going on. And she'd be damned if she didn't find out what.

_**~O~**_

Tobias knew his brother and Meilin had ditched him. He knew the sound of the old Ford, and knew that once if faded into the distance, he was stranded at the Circus lot until someone came to get him. But as he watched Dinah from his spot at the picnic table, the way she moved in the mess line gathering food, he realized it didn't bother him as much as it usually did. She was pretty, and from the way she bent in her act last night, flexible too.

Bonus points.

The old man looked at him again, and Tobias was getting a little freaked out. Shooting a glance at Dinah, he saw her smile and mouth something like _talk to him_ before turning around to talk to Evelyn – or was it Abigail?

He looked at the old man – he was still watching him – and shuddered when he saw him break out in a relatively toothless grin.

"Careful watchya touch, boyo. While we Circus lot is like a family, we wouldn't hesatat ta steal the gold fillins from ya mouth." That accent of yours is a mouthful, he wanted to say, but Dinah joined them at that moment, smiling and handing over the tray to the old man.

"There you go Sanders." The old man said something that sounded like thank you, before digging into the sad excuse for pancakes. A small hand appeared on Tobias's thigh, and he turned to look at Dinah, who had this pleasantly coy smile on her mouth.

"Would you like to see my tent, Tobias?" she asked casually, squeezing his leg so there would be no misinterpretation. Nodding dumbly, he let her take his hand and pull him towards the exit. Before he lost all reasonable thought, he sent one last glance at Sanders, who was watching them with a strange look in his eye. The old man simply opened his mouth and tapped one of his last remaining teeth.

Tobias had only a moment to recognize the strange feeling of foreboding settle in his stomach before Dinah hauled him into the sun and towards a small group of tents on the outskirts of the main circle. Then he thought no more, only felt.

And all he felt was Dinah.

HA


	6. Affliction for an Opheliac

_**Disclaimer: Yay! Another Apple. This one is short but I think it gets the point across. Opening calling are lyrics from **_Evelyn Evelyn's A Campaign of Shock and Awe_**. Hope you enjoy – Thundercatroar and One Fine Wire I'm talkin to you.**_

HA

**Behold! The eighth wonder of the natural world!**

_Come one and come all!_

**See the two headed girl!**

_Stupendous_

**Revolting!**

_You'll be shocked!_

**You'll be awed!**

_A true freak of nature!_

**A blunder of God!**

_But possessing such talents!_

**Hear them sing!**

_See them dance!_

**As seen in the highest class parlors of France!**

_Just ten bucks a bargain!_

**Get your seats while they last!**

_**We take Visa and MasterCard, debt or cash!**_

The crowd in the tent was going wild for them, there was no mistaking it. Todd Wilkis and Chris Lowe were the ones announcing them tonight, voices loud and carrying as they stood in the center of the tent. When the crowd was nearly riotous, the lights cut out, only to be refocused on the twins off to the side by the band. Striking up a tune, the girls Evelyn and Abigail swayed, the words of the song leaving their lips with little thought or notice.

Something about being sisters always together – every single show it was some song or other about loving and hating and loving again – but the twins didn't really care.

They had grown accustomed to the music just as they had grown accustomed to the catcalls and the jeers, a twisted concoction of freaks and sex; they had heard it all before all their lives and it no longer matter. Looking up through the stands, four eyes found their father, a tall, brave man in a top hat. A mixture of love, pride, and greed swirled in his dark orbs as he smiled at the pair – and what a pair they were. They loved their father more than anything, he had never been unkind to them – and while many would say their lives were cruel and abusive, it was all they'd ever known. Besides, he knew that this was essentially the only life for them, the world can be an unrelenting master, and they would no doubt have ended up far worse than this.

He may have lost his wife, but as a form of repayment he had received two daughters and a star act few other Circuses could boast. And he loved them even more than he loved the money and the crowds; though it was a close race.

Wasn't it fitting? That while the woman who had loved both he and the circus equally died, she brought a pair of twins into the world that would know nothing but that? Love and the Circus. They were one and in same in the eyes of the twins Evelyn and Abigail.

D.W. watched carefully as the girls finished up their song – this was the pivotal moment, the one that could mark tonight as success or disaster. If the crowd loved them so much, and demanded an encore, it was going to be a good night; but if they were so riled up that he had to call Todd and Chris to protect them, then it would take everything in him not to just shut down the whole show then and there.

Pulling him from his thoughts was the sound of entertained laughter and applause. The song had just ended, and the Rubes were eating it up, calling for more, _more_, **more**, _**more**_! Pleased that he wouldn't have to overact tonight, he sent a smile and nod to the large group in the center, signaling another performance or it would be their jobs.

His daughters smiled right back.

_**~O~**_

Watching from the sideline, Todd was not only there to make sure he could protect the twins if the Rubes got rowdy, but because he liked being there. Their voices were so smooth, and mixed with the band that could play Entry of the Gladiators forwards backwards and sideways, it was unlike anything he had heard anywhere else. But she, she was his favorite of the two. Most couldn't tell the pair apart, but he could, he knew the differences in their voices, if only so slight; he could tell how her face was just a bit softer than her sister's, her eyes that less restrained. She still let herself dream, dream of a life with the Circus, with her sister, and he hoped, with him.

Because he cared for her.

No, more than that.

He loved her.

And as the singing sisters reached an eccentric key change in their current song, she sent a quick glance and smile in his direction. He couldn't stop the butterflies from uprising violently in his stomach, nor the dopey smile that spread across his lips. If she felt the same thing he did . . . Todd and Abigail Wilkis. That certainly had a magical ring to it.

Todd had to stop himself from laughing in a mixture of pity and self loathing as he watched the object of his affection and affliction, letting the music wash over him.

Maybe in another life Todd.

_**~O~**_

Tobias lounged on the bed, a thin sheet draped and wrapped haphazardly around his naked waist. Dinah was stretching off to the side, also naked, attempting to limber herself up for her performance in a few hours. She knew she was giving him a free show, but seeing as he already saw, touched, and kissed everything already, there was no need to play coy.

"I was right." He muttered softly, and she turned to look at him over her shoulder, an eyebrow raised in question. He smirked cockily, replaying the memories of what they had done with glee.

"You are flexible."

As if to drive his point home, she lifted her right leg up and over her head while still standing, and Tobias felt himself standing right with her. Turning with a smirk, she stalked towards her new-found lover, running a hand over his smooth young chest and kissing his awaiting lips. He devoured her hungrily, gripping the back of her head while rolling back on top of her and burying the both of them within the sheets once more.

An hour later, when the two finally managed to crawl out of her tent, the love-struck pair was confronted by a very, _**very**_ angry redhead. Dinah was shoved out of the way as Tobias was bent backwards over the nearest crate, sputtering for air as a pair of big and violent hands wrapped around his neck. Rushing to his side, Dinah tried to pull the furious hand off of the young Gammelthorpe, but to no avail.

"Erik! Let him go!" the aerialist cried, only to be shoved aside once more as Erik squeezed.

"What the _**fuck**_ does your asshole brother think he's doing with _**my girl**_?" he growled, and Tobias tried to widen his eyes, but his brain needed oxygen.

"I-I-I- wha-wha-what?" was all he could rasp out, and Erik lost his patience. Releasing only one hand, he reeled back to form a fuming fist, and unleashed his aggression on his enemy by assaulting blow after blow.

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Tobias lost count, and nearly lost consciousness. In the back of his woozy mind, he realized that he probably would have slipped into blackness, had the hits not been softened by the alcohol the angry young man had consumed. He could hear Dinah crying, and it broke his heart the same way Erik had no doubt broken his nose.

Blood streaming from his nose, and his eyes nearly swollen shut, Tobias felt the hand finally release his throat, and he just about choked in his attempt to replenish the air to his lungs.

"Tell your _**fucking**_ brother to stay away from Meilin. She's mine, and only mine." Erik snarled before stalking off, bored with the Gammelthorpe and figuring his point had been understood, went to find some poor peon to harass.

Tobias slowly slid down the side of the crate, letting his body fold and crumple as he tried to open his eyes. His arms felt too heavy to lift to his face, and he just wanted to sit there and catch his breath. A pair of soft hands came out from the darkness and gently touched his face, noting what was the most swollen and what was bleeding. He could feel Dinah's controlled sobs, and reached out to take her in his arms. She readily collapsed into him, gripping his chest and crying.

"Shit . . ." he moaned, and the pretty little brunette looked up to see his barely opened eyes gazing somewhere over her head and into the distance.

"If he did this to me, what is that asshole going to do to Martin?" they were silent for a moment, before Dinah added her own thought.

"And Meilin."

Both grips tightened.

_**~O~**_

Meilin had never seen apple trees, especially not when they were in bloom. They were so beautiful; she found it easy to forget everything. Forget her growing attachment to Martin, forget Erik and his bruises, forget her place in life, forget her fears. With a soft and contented sigh, she sat beneath one of those blessed trees in the middle of the orchard, listening to the world around her, the birds, the wind, Martin's breathing beside her and her own in and exhales. The feeling of peace settling within her bones, she allowed herself to come to a decision; she reached over and gently took Martin's hand.

He looked at her sharply, and she flashed him a broken smile while squeezing his hand. Returning her smile, he scooted over and stroked one of her arms comfortingly, growing confused when she flinched at one of his touches. Lifting her sleeve, he found the vicious bruise Erik marred her flesh with the night before, now the size of a large hand with very distinct fingers.

"I can't let him scare me anymore." Meilin said quietly, and couldn't fight the shiver that moved simultaneously up and down her spine when Martin leaned forward and kissed the mark softly.

"Martin . . . ?" she didn't need to say anymore, he knew what she was asking and he knew what his answer was. Eventually he would find a way to save her for good, but for now he would be content with this.

Swiftly he moved over and kissed her on the mouth. Not hard or possessive, in no way like Erik, but she still let his tongue into her mouth, and his hand up her shirt. This time he didn't fondle her back, but her front. When the stripping began, he could feel his hands begin to tremble with anticipation, having never done thing before. But she was calm, and by the time they were both bare, so was he.

Martin found four more dark and angry bruises on her otherwise lovely skin, and he gave each one the same gentle kiss.

What he didn't know she was more than willing to teach, leading him into her with a grace that mirrored her performance the other night. As soon as he slid home, he felt the tingle of pleasure that struck when he masturbated, but held it off as she slowly began rocking against him, her back to a tree and his soft flesh on her chest. He kissed her slowly, every now and again thrusting into her, but overall he let her move how she wanted.

He let her be in control, and she accepted the gift, feeling herself falling deeper and deeper with him.

Martin had always thought his first time would be fast and loose, in all honesty with a hooker he wouldn't remember the face of because his brothers had gotten him so drunk just so he would sleep with her. He always thought it would be a birthday present from them because he was so unlike them and their wild ways with women. But this was so much better, slow and with a woman he wanted for the rest of his life.

And that scared him more than the drunken, faceless prostitute in the men's bathroom. Because he knew that he was falling in love with the woman he was in, and he wanted her. He wanted her more than anything, and more than just sex. He needed her so he could simply live.

And as he grunted, and she threw her head back in the pleasure she brought the both of them, he came to a vow he unwittingly made as he and his brothers drove away that first night. A night that seemed an eternity ago.

The vow that she would be his in all forms.

They lay panting in the nook of the apple tree, holding each other as if they wanted to meld their flesh together. Catching their breath and shivering in post-sex tremors, the apple orchard made a vow as well.

It would guard them, would hold their secret; forever, if need be.

HA


End file.
